Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Fuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Fuzhou: $762 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Fuzhou
Learn more

Fuzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Fuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$762

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Fuzhou

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barcelona and in Fuzhou actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $762 in Fuzhou.

Barcelona $2,399
Fuzhou $762

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,227 in Fuzhou.

Barcelona $3,410
Fuzhou $1,227

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,692 in Fuzhou.

Barcelona $4,421
Fuzhou $1,692

Living in Barcelona is roughly 215% more expensive than in Fuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Fuzhou is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$3.06 ¥20.47

486.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$23.06 ¥154

195.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$5.08 ¥33.98

161.42%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.50 ¥16.74

30.00%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 €2.67

$0.47 ¥3.12

540.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.27 ¥1.78

592.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$0.86 ¥5.73

347.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$1.74 ¥11.66

157.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.06 ¥13.81

-37.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.41 ¥9.43

44.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.93 ¥6.23

84.95%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.55 ¥10.39

207.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$7.65 ¥51.1

119.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$2.18 ¥14.58

309.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$8.97 ¥60.0

121.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.80 ¥12.07

65.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.32 ¥8.81

53.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.68 ¥11.22

62.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.07 ¥7.14

150.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.84 ¥5.63

150.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.01 ¥6.75

105.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.44 ¥2.93

229.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.52 ¥3.49

71.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.01 ¥20.13

130.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.99 ¥73.5

-29.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.72 ¥4.81

101.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.22 ¥8.13

110.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.29 ¥1.93

931.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$23.66 ¥158

6.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.52 ¥10.14

105.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.29 ¥1.91

396.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$7.28 ¥48.68

360.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.25 ¥8.37

43.20%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.6K €30.8K

$19.4K ¥129.7K

78.56%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$30.1K €26.7K

$15.6K ¥104.1K

93.16%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$178 €158

$43.17 ¥289

311.98%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.32 €11.85

$8.53 ¥57.1

56.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$8.94 ¥59.8

290.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$42.27 ¥283

25.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$14.76 ¥98.7

8.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$7.38 ¥49.31

49.86%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$957 €851

$209 ¥1,395

358.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$12.1K ¥81.0K

36.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$39.90 ¥267

121.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$29.42 ¥197

34.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$90.5 ¥605

13.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$86.9 ¥581

39.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$458 ¥3,060

261.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$250 ¥1,672

420.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$1,038 ¥6,939

146.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$514 ¥3,438

272.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$4,514 ¥30.2K

61.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$2,346 ¥15.7K

116.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$1,006 ¥6,728

126.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.46

-5.20%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Fuzhou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Fuzhou

$250 32.8% 80.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Fuzhou

$175 23% 45.3% $145

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Fuzhou

$80 10.6% 70.2% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Fuzhou

$61 8% 73.2% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Fuzhou

$111 14.6% 29.9% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Fuzhou

$57 7.5% 24.3% $18

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Fuzhou

$28 3.6% 41.5% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $458 in Fuzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 127% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $23.00 in Fuzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $175 per month, with Fuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Fuzhou

🕒 Local time

20:28 8:28 PM

02:28 2:28 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,291,268

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Fuzhou 10,110 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Fuzhou

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Barcelona vs Fuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Fuzhou differ by about 215% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $762 including rent). Fuzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 127% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $458 in Fuzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $209 in Fuzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 83% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $762 in Fuzhou versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fuzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Fuzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Fuzhou are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Fuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 215% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.